INSPYS Review: Words - Ginny Yttrup

Publisher:  B & H Books

Pages:  352

Source: I purchased  to review for INSPY

Genre:  Adult, Christian Realistic Fiction, Sexual Abuse

This was such a powerful book.  Kaylee Wren is a young  ten year old girl abandoned by her mother.  She is left with her mother’s boyfriend.  When the mother doesn’t return the boyfriend burns all of  the mother’s possessions and most of Kaylee’s things.  She is left there for him to do with as he pleases, and he does.

Kaylee clings to a dictionary and two other books left by her mother.  Two books “he” doesn’t know she has.  She has stopped talking.  She keeps her words in her head.  This is the one place he can not find them and take them away.  She is a survivor.  As I read I wondered how she was still alive.  She was hungry and dirty.   She holds out hope that her mother will come back for her.  She even tells her self that her mother has amnesia.  This is how she deals with the situation.

The imagery and use of metaphors is wonderful.  The author uses the redwood tree and its resilience to explain how Kaylee is a survivor.  In the story, when Kaylee can steal away from the cabin, she hides in the base of a redwood tree.  She keeps those things she holds most dear in that tree.   It is here that Sierra, an artist, finds her.  The meeting of these two is not by chance.  Sierra is dealing with the anniversary of her own daughter’s death.  Twelve years earlier she had given birth to a daughter who lived only nine days.  Drugs she took while pregnant was the root cause of her daughter’s death.  Sierra has been running from the pain and from God for a long time.  With Sierra’s painful past, and Kaylee’s current pain, only God could bring two dysfunctional people together to show how God can heal.  Kaylee uses words to protect her and help her heal.  Seirra dives into her art.  She talked about building layer upon layer, yet after Kaylee entered her life she begins to peel away layer after layer of her past.

It is proof that a person must deal with the past instead of holding it in, if they are to ever begin the healing process.  Forgiveness must be given for complete healing.  We see both Kaylee and Sierra dealing with their past.  We also see that they have learned that dealing with their past through God’s helping love is so much easier. 

This is a book I highly recommend.  Don’t let the topic of sexual abuse scare you away.  The messages of hope, forgiveness, redemption and love are more than enough to combat the scary topic.  This powerful book will take you on a rollercoaster ride you will not soon forget.

Meet the Author:  Ginny dreamt of becoming a writer most of her adult life and pursued her dream by learning the craft and honing her skills. Her debut novel, Words, is the fulfillment of that dream.

Ginny is a mother, friend, writer, life and writing coach, dog lover, and gourmet cook wanna-be.

Visit her at her websites: www.ginnyyttrup.com or www.crossingscoaching.com.

The Dolphin Way - Margaret Gillrie-Frasier

Publisher: AuthorHouse Publishing
Pages: 120
Source: Review copy from author
Genre: Animal, Adventure, All Ages, Science, Dolphins
Book Description from Amazon:
Representatives from all of the worlds' dolphin pods are on their way to their "Dolphin Olympics!" For Mattie and his friends it is their first time attending the famous event and their excitement is infectious. Challenges for the main character, Mattie, are quick to find him. While the thrill of his exploits will keep the readers turning pages, learning about dolphins, marine life, and so much more is made easy and fun. All of the facts have been researched with an eye on the educational curriculum that every child should know. The reader is allowed to learn as a secondary result but it is the story that will keep them from wanting to put the book down. "I think your stories are SPECTACULAR because I think you teach people around the world about dolphins and about friendship!" Zaynab from 20 B "When my class read The Dolphin Way, I have never seen such enthusiasm or passion for their reading. My class made t-shirts, bags, hats, etc. to support the cause of saving the dolphins. It was one of the most fantastic experiences of my teaching career. Chris Colderley Pauline Johnson P.S. A wonderful story about honesty, friendship, loyalty, mutual respect and understanding, The Dolphin Way cleverly illustrates how important these elements are to building and maintaining relationships with others. Young dolphin Mattie, is absolutely captivating as a character and draws the reader into his life and his adventures. Be prepared to be amazed at the parallels between dolphins and humans. A must read for all young readers. Joanne Walmsley-Shepherd Newspaper in Education Business Development Co-ordinator The Hamilton Spectator.
My Thoughts:
Through wonderful story telling the reader is taken on an adventure with the ocean’s dolphins. At the end of each chapter in this adventure you find fact nuggets about dolphins that enhance the story. You also learn abut the dangers dolphins face from nets. This is the story f mattie and his mother who are caught in a tsunami and separated. Mattie sets out to find his mother and his future destiny. There is so much wonderful information packed into this book. Since I live in Florida, this is the perfect book for me to put on my shelves for my student. I also received a similar book that had poetry written by students to go along with the story. Both are wonderful teaching tools and such a pleasure to read.

INSPYS WINNER for GENERAL FICTION

I had the privilege this year of being an INSPYS judge for the category of General Fiction.  I served with some wonderful people this year.  We had five wonderful books to read and review.  These five books will be reviewed over the next five days.  The winner was announced yesterday for General Fiction so I will start with that review.  To see the other winners please go to the INSPYS  site.

City of Tranquil Light - Bo Caldwell
Publisher:  Henry Holt & Co.
Pages:  304
Source:  Purchased
Genre:  Adult, General Fiction

From Goodreads:

Will Kiehn is seemingly destined for life as a humble farmer in the Midwest when, having felt a call from God, he travels to the vast North China Plain in the early twentieth-century. There he is surprised by love and weds a strong and determined fellow missionary, Katherine. They soon find themselves witnesses to the crumbling of a more than two-thousand-year-old dynasty that plunges the country into decades of civil war. As the couple works to improve the lives of the people of Kuang P'ing Ch'eng— City of Tranquil Light, a place they come to love—and face incredible hardship, will their faith and relationship be enough to sustain them?

Told through Will and Katherine's alternating viewpoints—and inspired by the lives of the author's maternal grandparents—City of Tranquil Lightis a tender and elegiac portrait of a young marriage set against the backdrop of the shifting face of a beautiful but torn nation. A deeply spiritual book, it shows how those who work to teach others often have the most to learn, and is further evidence that Bo Caldwell writes "vividly and with great historical perspective" (San Jose Mercury News).

My Thoughts:

The wonderful thing about this book is that the Christian and Non-Christian alike can and will enjoy this book.  It is not real preachy.  This is the story of Will & Katherine who answered a call made by God.  They live their faith.  Through this book we see the go through some of the same trials and emotions we go through.  No matter what comes their way, no matter how  right it would seem for them to just throw in the towel, they continue to rely on God.  If I could choose only one word to describe this book I would say it would have to be authentic.  It made me re-evaluate my own walk and ask, how much would I be willing to sacrifice for as close a walk with God as they had? 

This book is highly recommended to everyone.  There is something here for everyone to love.